MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

5/2 Cubs lineup

The Cubs close their four-game series against the Padres at Wrigley Field on Thursday. Travis Wood gets the start against San Diego lefty Eric Stults. Starlin Castro remains in the No. 5 spot in the lineup for the second day.

5 Comments

Correct, both offensively and defensively. Note that Castro Is in the 5 hole again a sure sign that Sveum is looking for some run production due to the failure of Soriano to do so. Also probably trying to “protect” poor little Soriano (the VICTIM) by having the best hitter on the team bat behind him. This is a no win situation. SorryOhno can hit lights out for the rest of the year which may increase his trade value to an AL team but at the same time give him reason to kill any deal because he would AGAIN consider himself capable of contributing to the Chicago World Series pipe dream before his contract is over. This is truly one of the most prototypical albatross contract/player in all of baseball. Maybe the rooftop owners can force the Cubs to remove SorryOhno from LF during negotiations?

I do understand that Soriano will heat up, he always does once the season is already lost, then cools down In the rare event of a playoff game. IF the Yankees are interested in Soriano they are also desperate. You’re right…the Yanks COULDN’T buy any lower than Soriano but to say the Cubs should NOT sell Soriano is just wrong. The only reason the Cubs will not sell Soriano is because they CAN”T sell Soriano not because they don’t want to sell him. getting ANY value for the remainder of Soriano’s contract would be a good, luck and miraculous situation.

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